WORSHIPPING THE DARK THE MANIFESTATIONS OF CARL GUSTAV JUNG'S ARCHETYPE OF ...

124 Pages·2012·6.49 MB·English

WORSHIPPING THE DARK
THE MANIFESTATIONS OF CARL GUSTAV JUNG'S ARCHETYPE OF THE
SHADOW IN CONTEMPORARY WICCA
Nicholas Marc Dion
Faculty of Religious Studies
McGill University, Montreal
October 2006
A thesis submitted to Mc Gill University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of
Master of Arts
© Nicholas Dion, 2006
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11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract/Résumé 111
Acknowledgements IV
Introduction 1
1 Historical Background 3
1.1 Common Misinterpretations of Wicca 4
1.2 Defining Wicca 7
1.3 Jungian Anthropology of Religion and its Historical Development 12
1.4 Wicca as a Historical Movement 17
1.5 Jung as Psychologist 22
2 The Psychology of the Shadow and its Implications 26
2.1 Archetypal Theory 26
2.2 The Archetype of the Shadow 34
2.3 The Shadow and the Concept of Evil 40
2.4 The Wiccan Rede 46
2.5 Evil in the Divine 51
2.6 The Divine and the Quaternary 57
3 The Manifestations of the Shadow and Its Integration 61
3.1 The Integration Process 61
3.2 The Individuation Process and the Archetype of the Shadow 65
3.3 Wiccan Ritual 72
3.4 Wicca and the Environment 78
3.5 The Problem of Magic 81
3.6 Inanna's Descent to the Underworld 86
Conclusion 97
Bibliography 99
1.1 Primary Sources: Writings by Wiccans 99
1.2 Primary Sources: Writings by Carl Gustav Jung 101
2.1 Secondary Sources: Writings on the Wiccan Religion 104
2.2 Secondary Sources: Writings on Carl Gustav Jung 107
3 Other Sources 113
111
Abstract
Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung describes the encounter with the archetype
of the shadow as the initial step to be taken by any individual seeking to initiate the
individuation process. Jung observes a close relationship between this process and
religion, suggesting that a psychologically beneficial religion can help guide the subject
through individuation. Yet Jung finds few existing religious traditions that satisfy his
criteria. Wicca, a neopagan religion popular in Europe and North America, presents itself
at times as consciously psychological, striving to lead the practitioner to a goal of self
transformation, yi el ding a product that strangely resembles the individuated person. The
objective therefore becomes not to criticize Wiccan religious claims, nor to deconstruct
Jungian philosophy, but to identify the points of intersection between Wiccan
theology/thealogy and Jungian psychology of religion, with a particular emphasis on the
archetype ofthe shadow.
Résumé
Le psychanalyste suisse Carl Gustav Jung décrit la rencontre avec l'archétype de
l'ombre comme étant la première étape qui doit être franchie par chaque personne
cherchant à faire débuter le processus d'intégration. Jung perçoit de plus une certaine
relation entre ce processus et le but psychologique de la religion; c'est-à-dire, la religion
devrait aider l'individu à négocier le chemin de l'intégration. Ayant survolé les grandes
traditions religieuses du monde, Jung a bien de la misère à trouver des religions qui
remplissent ses critères. Cependant, la Wicca, un mouvement néo-païen, se présente
comme étant une religion qui se soucie consciemment du développement psychologique
de ses membres, et qui encourage la transformation personnelle, sur le même plan que
l'intégration. Le but de ce texte n'est donc pas de critiquer les affirmations religieuses de
la Wicca, ni d'analyser la philosophie de Jung, mais plutôt de chercher à identifier
certains points d'intersection entre la théologie/théalogie wiccane et la psychologie
Jungienne, avec une attention particulière portée sur l'archétype de l'ombre.
IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1 would like to thank Dr. Maurice Boutin of the Faculty of Religious Studies at
Mc Gill University for his thoughts and comments during the writing process. 1 thank him
for sharing my enthusiasm for this project and for allowing me the freedom to follow my
ideas down this admittedly unorthodox path. Much thanks to my fellow pagan studies
scholars across Canada, many of whom 1 have had the privilege of meeting in the not-so
distant past; thanks to them for their thoughts and experiences. And finally, my infinite
gratitude to my friends and family for their unwavering moral support.
Introduction
Any research project that deals with a religious movement as obscure as Wicca
should realistically expect to be met with initial skepticism from the academic
community. Despite the increasing popularity of this religion in North America over the
past three decades, only recently have attempts been made to understand Wicca at a
deeper level. Few academics are familiar with the teachings of contemporary Wicca, as
those who have heard of the religion continue to carry in mind a portrait painted in the
early 1970s, when members of the women's equality movement popularized Wicca in
North America. The religion has greatly changed since then, and this image of 1970s
Wicca is no longer entirely reflective of the present state of affairs.
The question remains as to why anyone should bother granting Wicca any
academic consideration. Considering the relatively small size of the movement in North
America, these reasons may not necessarily be evident at first. Part of this study's task
will be to expose these reasons. As author David Miller writes in the introduction to The
New Polytheism: Rebirth oft he Gods and Goddesses:
Students coming to the university used to define their religious situation
by locating first their inherited tradition, and then asking the university to
clarify that tradition for them; so they might better affirm or deny it.
What they are asking of their teachers of religion is no longer that they
serve as a sophisticated or upper division Sunday School, but that they
offer them a massive and total access to aIl the Gods of men. (Miller
1974, vii)
This changing academic situation, in recognition of the religious pluralism that abounds
in both Canada and the United States, demands that all religions be given an equally fair
chance to share their truths with those who should wish to hear them. This is not to deny
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the individual's own religious commitment, nor to discard the importance of one's
inherited tradition in further religious development; this situation simply suggests that it
is becoming more and more difficult to say that a religion is too small or too new to be
worthy of study.
Sociological and psychological approaches to religion would also encourage the
study of new religious movements, including Wicca, for the rise of any given religious
movement is necessarily linked to psychosocial factors. That is, each new religious
movement exists for a reason. If it has managed to sustain its existence for a certain time
period, and it continues to attract new disciples, surely the movement is offering the
practitioner an innovative 'spiritual' understanding of sorne sort, which s/he not only
finds beneficial but which, more importantly, s/he feels unable to discover in any of the
'traditional' religious systems. It is the task of religious studies (more specifically, sorne
might argue, of psychology of religion) to unearth and consider these religious feelings.
Many obstacles must be overcome (or, at the very least, recognized and
temporarily sidestepped) when dealing with Wicca academically. The religion lacks any
sort of central authorityand is essentially adogmatic. While an overwhelming majority of
Wiccans would agree on certain key precepts of their religious experience, there remains
within the tradition a great flexibility for personal modification and for customizability.
This is the primary reason, however, for which this study has chosen psychology as its
preferred methodological approach. Wicca, a religion essentially based upon ideals of
spiritual and social transformation, displays great affinity with the psychology of Carl
Gustav Jung (1875-1961). In particular, Jung's archetype of the shadow takes on a
Dion 3
prominent role in Wiccan thought and ritual. How is this archetype manifested within
Wiccan teaching and mythology?
This study will consist of three chapters. The first provides a historical and
historiographical view of both witchcraft and Jungian psychology, in an attempt to
uncover points at which the two may have crossed, thereby legitimating a Jungian
interpretation of modern Wicca. Since both Wicca and Jungian psychology are grounded
in their own rich and important histories, this chapter will pro vide background
information necessary to understanding the remaining text.
The second chapter examines Jung's archetype of the shadow in itself, as well as
areas that Jung finds directly connected to this archetype: the nature of God, the
encounter with the shadow and its immediate ethical repercussions. Along the way,
Jung's analysis is cast against a Wiccan religious backdrop, revealing similarities
between Wiccan theology and Jungian thought.
Chapter three looks at the crux of Jungian psychology, i.e. the transformative
process of individuation, in which the shadow plays an essential role. The Jungian
process is outlined and then compared with the transformation sought out by Wiccan
practitioners. The goal again is to highlight similarities and differences between the two.
On the Wiccan side, investigation is aided by an analysis of the myth of the Goddess's
descent to the Underworld, a myth that is Sumerian in origin but which has been
modified and adopted as one ofthe central myths ofthe Wiccan religious experience.
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Chapter 1
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Wicca as a religious movement suffers in many ways from the stigma associated
with its history. Wicca is often almost pejoratively referred to as witchcraft, which brings
along with it all the negative connotations of the term, especially within the history of the
Christian tradition. In his History of Witchcraft, Jeffrey Burton Russell defines a witch as
"a pagan who practices magic" (Russell 1980, 157). This definition is acceptable, but
distinctions must be made between Wiccans, witches and pagans. Pagans, for one, come
in a variety of forms, but are aIl essentially practitioners of polytheistic religions, such as
Asatru or reconstructionist c1assical faiths (Greek and Roman religions, for example).
Wiccans are, of course, practitioners of Wicca, which may or may not be witches, since
magic is not generally viewed as an essential part of Wiccan practice. Wiccans who
identify themselves as polytheistic may thus be called pagans, although Wiccan opinions
differ concerning the nature of the gods. Similarly, one can be a witch without being
Wiccan. Many individuals who identify as witches c1aim that witchcraft has always been
traditional in their families and that they have simply inherited the practice from their
ancestors. These are often termed 'traditional' or 'hereditary' witches.
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1.1 Common Misinterpretations of Wicca
Historically, Christian opinions towards witchcraft have been very dear. The
work of Montague Summers (1880-1948), a Catholic priest, is well representative of this
attitude. Summers, who conducted a great deal of historical research into the occult, is
best known for his English translation of the Malleus Maleficarum, the medieval text
drafted by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger and used to persecute witches during the
witch-hunts. Summers' translation of this manual de scribes witches as spiritually weak
women who have been seduced by the devil, who have sexual relations with demons,
who cause abortions, deformities, storms and who harm cattle (Summers 1971, i).
Summers goes on to support the truth of these daims, appealing in large part to classical
and patristic sources for examples. He quotes Livy (Titus Livius) and Vergil (P. Vergilius
Maro) as evidence that witchcraft was deemed a capital offense under the laws of the
Roman Empire. He continues on to argue that strong emperors, such as Augustus and
Severus, banished mages from their territory (xv), and refers to one of Saint Augustine's
arguments in the City of God, repeating that all pagan gods are in reality demons and that
these witches are therefore demon worshippers, much as Augustine claimed the dassical
pagans were (xi). Summers continues, "Witchcraft is an evil thing, an enemy to light, an
ally of the powers of darkness, disruption and decay", and he refers to the Vulgate
translation of Exodus 23: 18, "Maleficos non patieris vivere". The term 'maleficos' -
literally, 'evil-doers' - had long been synonymous with 'witch' (see the French
'maléfice' or 'malfaiteur'). Summers ignores the obvious problem with the term,
however. The original Latin word maleficos (malef icus in the nominative case), being